Well Systems: Pressure Tank, Switch, Pump, in That Order
Most "the pump has failed" calls are a waterlogged pressure tank or a pressure switch. Diagnosing in the right order is what stops you paying for a pump you did not need.
A pump that will not stop running can burn out. Switch it off at the breaker and call.
Orientation
Four components, and what each does
A private well serves a very large number of Georgia households, particularly in the north Georgia counties, the northwest and the rural south. There is no utility to call, which makes understanding your own system genuinely useful.
The pump. Either a submersible unit hanging in the well casing, the norm on modern and deeper wells, or a jet pump sitting above ground, common on older shallow wells. It moves water from the well into the house system.
The pressure tank. A tank with air on one side of a bladder or diaphragm and water on the other. It stores pressurised water so the pump does not have to start every time you open a tap. It is the single most misunderstood component and the most common cause of complaints blamed on the pump.
The pressure switch. A small device, usually mounted near the tank, that starts the pump at a low pressure and stops it at a high one, commonly 30/50 or 40/60 psi. Cheap, mechanical, and a frequent failure point.
The controls and wiring. A control box for some submersible pumps, plus the breaker and wiring. Also often a sediment filter and, on many Georgia wells, treatment equipment.
The order matters when something goes wrong: check the switch and tank before condemning the pump. Pulling a submersible pump from a deep well is a significant job, and a great many are pulled unnecessarily.
What you are seeing
Symptom to likely cause
No water at all. Check the breaker first, pump circuits trip. Then the pressure switch, then the pump itself. On a jet pump, loss of prime is common after a power cut or a dry spell.
Pressure that surges and drops rapidly, and a pump that clicks on and off constantly. Classic waterlogged pressure tank, the bladder has failed or the air charge has gone. This is the most common well complaint there is, and it destroys pumps through rapid cycling if left. Do not ignore it.
Pump runs continuously and never shuts off. Either it cannot reach cut-out pressure (a worn pump, a leak in the drop pipe, a dropping water level in the well) or the pressure switch has failed closed. Switch it off at the breaker; continuous running burns pumps out.
Low pressure throughout the house, steady. Switch set low, a clogged sediment filter, a partly blocked line, or a pump losing performance. Filters are the cheapest thing to check and are frequently the answer.
Air spitting from taps. Air in the system: a dropping water level letting the pump draw air, a leak on the suction side of a jet pump, or a failing tank. Worth attending to promptly.
Sand or grit in the water. A failing well screen, a pump set too low in the casing, or a deteriorating casing. This is where a licensed well contractor is needed rather than a plumber.
Loud or unusual noise. A jet pump grinding or squealing is bearings or cavitation. A submersible is normally silent from the house, so noise usually points at the tank, the switch chattering or plumbing.
Well runs dry in a drought. A Georgia summer with a shallow well can drop the water level below the pump intake. That is a well-yield question for a well contractor, not a pump fault.
Pump cycling rapidly? Switch it off at the breaker before it destroys itself, then call.
Book Well System ServiceThe component that gets blamed last
Pressure tanks, and rapid cycling
A pressure tank's job is to give the pump somewhere to push water so it can run for a reasonable period and then rest. When the air charge is lost or the bladder fails, the tank fills with water, there is no cushion, and the pump starts and stops every few seconds under any demand. That is "short cycling", and it kills pumps.
How a waterlogged tank is confirmed
Tapping the tank gives a dull sound all the way up rather than hollow above the water line. With the system depressurised, the air valve at the top should release air, not water, water there means a ruptured bladder. And the gauge behaviour is diagnostic: pressure that swings rapidly through the switch range is the signature.
Pre-charge must match the switch
The tank's air pre-charge should be set a couple of psi below the pump's cut-in pressure, 28 psi for a 30/50 switch, for example. A tank charged wrongly cycles badly even when perfectly sound, and this is a setting a surprising number of installations get wrong.
Too small is a chronic problem
An undersized tank means short run times whatever else is right. Where a household has grown, or irrigation has been added, the original tank may simply be too small for the demand, and upsizing it is cheaper than replacing pumps repeatedly.
Why this is urgent, not cosmetic
Pump motors are damaged by starting, not by running. A pump cycling every few seconds accumulates a lifetime of starts in weeks. Fixing a tank costs a fraction of a pump replacement, and a neglected tank is why many pumps are replaced early.
Pumps and switches
What gets repaired and what gets replaced
Pressure switches are inexpensive and consumable. Pitted contacts, a stuck diaphragm, or nesting insects in the housing are all common. Replacement is short work, and the switch's cut-in and cut-out are set to match the tank pre-charge as part of the job.
Jet pumps are above ground and therefore accessible. Loss of prime, a leaking foot valve, worn impellers, failed bearings and cracked housings after a freeze, in a Georgia winter, an unheated well house is a real risk. Repairs and replacement are relatively straightforward because you can reach the thing.
Submersible pumps hang in the casing on the drop pipe and wiring. Diagnosing them involves electrical testing at the control box or wellhead, resistance and insulation readings tell you whether the motor is the fault before anything is pulled. Pulling and replacing a pump from a deep well needs proper equipment and is where a well contractor and a plumber's work overlap.
Other real faults: a leak in the drop pipe, so the pump cannot build pressure; a failed check valve, letting water fall back and causing cycling; a corroded pitless adaptor at the casing; and wiring failures at the wellhead where water gets in.
Freeze protection. Well houses, pump houses and exposed pressure tanks in Georgia need insulation and, in some cases, a heat source. A cracked jet pump housing or a split tank fitting after a freeze event is a preventable failure. See pipe insulation and freeze protection.
Where our work stops
We do not drill wells, deepen wells, handle well permitting, or evaluate well yield and aquifer conditions. That is licensed well contractor work in Georgia. Pumps, tanks, switches, controls and the plumbing from there into the house is where we work, and we will say when your problem is the well rather than the equipment.
Water quality
What Georgia well owners deal with, and who tests it
There is no utility treating your water, which means quality is your responsibility. The common issues in Georgia wells:
- Iron and manganese. Orange or black staining on fixtures and laundry, metallic taste. Very common in Georgia groundwater and treatable with oxidising filtration.
- Hardness. Scale on fixtures and in water heaters, poor lathering. Softening is the standard answer where it is significant.
- Sulphur. The rotten-egg smell, sometimes from the water itself, sometimes from the water heater's anode reacting, worth distinguishing before treating.
- Sediment and turbidity. Sand and grit, hard on pumps, fixtures and appliances. A sediment filter is basic protection; persistent sand means a well problem.
- Low pH. Acidic water is common in parts of north Georgia and it corrodes copper pipe from the inside, producing blue-green staining and eventually pinhole leaks. Neutralising treatment protects the plumbing.
- Bacteria and nitrates. Not detectable by taste or appearance. Annual testing is the recommendation for private wells, and it is the one thing every well owner should actually do.
Treatment equipment we can install and service. See water filtration and treatment. What we do not do is water quality certification testing; for that, use your county extension office or a certified laboratory, and treat the results as the basis for choosing equipment rather than guessing.
Test annually, filter what the test finds, and keep the tank and switch healthy. That is the whole discipline.
Book Well ServiceQuestions we get on the phone
Answered plainly
Almost certainly a waterlogged pressure tank, the bladder has failed or the air charge is gone, so there is no cushion and the pump cycles constantly. It is urgent, because pump motors are damaged by starting rather than running, and a cycling pump accumulates a lifetime of starts in weeks. Switch it off at the breaker and call.
Not necessarily, and it is worth checking the cheap things first. Pump circuits trip, so start at the breaker. Then the pressure switch, which is an inexpensive consumable part and a frequent failure. On an above-ground jet pump, loss of prime after a power cut or a dry spell is common. The pump itself is the last suspect, not the first.
No. Well drilling, deepening, permitting and yield evaluation are licensed well contractor work in Georgia. We service the equipment side (pumps, pressure tanks, switches, controls, filtration and the plumbing into the house) and we will tell you when the problem is the well rather than the equipment.
Common settings are 30/50 or 40/60 psi, meaning the pump starts at the lower figure and stops at the higher. The pressure tank’s air pre-charge should sit a couple of psi below the cut-in pressure, 28 psi for a 30/50 switch. A mismatch between the two causes cycling even when every component is sound.
Yes. Orange staining is iron, which is very common in Georgia groundwater, and black staining is manganese. Both are treatable with oxidising filtration sized to the concentration, which is why a water test comes before buying equipment. Guessing at treatment is how people end up with a filter that does not address their actual water.
Annually for bacteria and nitrates at minimum, and after any flooding, nearby construction, or a change in taste, smell or appearance. Neither bacteria nor nitrates can be detected by taste or sight. Your county extension office or a certified laboratory handles the testing. It is inexpensive and it is the one piece of well maintenance nobody should skip.
No water, or a pump that will not settle?
We diagnose switch and tank before pump, which is how you avoid paying for a pump you did not need.
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